The black rhinoceros was originally widespread from the Cape to southwestern Angola and throughout eastern Africa as far as Somalia, parts of Ethiopia, and Sudan. Its range also extended westward through the northern savanna zone to Lake Chad, northern Cameroon, northern Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, and possibly Guinea. The animal was extremely numerous in some parts. It now occupies a much smaller area, within which it is found in scattered pockets, many of them in parks and reserves. The species still occurs in Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, and Swaziland. South Africa and Namibia have more black rhinos than other countries, but the future of the animals outside parks and reserves is far from secure. The decline in numbers is largely the result of expanding human settlement and of poaching to obtain the horns, which fetch high prices.

The black rhinoceros occupies a variety of habitats, frequenting open plains, sparse thorn scrub, savannas, thickets, and dry forests, as well as mountain forests and moorlands at high altitudes. It is a selective browser, and grass plays a minor role in its diet. Succulent plants, such as euphorbias, assume great importance in dry habitats, and the animals appear to be able to survive without free water where these plants are abundant. Where water is available, drinking is regular and frequent; the animals also may dig for water in dry riverbeds.

The much larger white rhinoceros is a grazing species with a broad square muzzle. It prefers short grasses 7 to 10 cm (about 3 to 4 inches) high. The animal makes much use of shade trees for resting and is dependent on surface water. The range of the white rhinoceros is markedly discontinuous. South of the Zambezi River it was once extremely common over a fairly large area of bushveld. It has since become confined to the game reserves in South Africa, where the population has risen; some of the animals have been redistributed to several other parks and reserves in Southern Africa.

The smallest of the three Asian rhinoceroses (also the smallest living member of the family) is the Sumatran, or Asiatic, two-horned rhinoceros, Didermocerus (or Dicerorhinus) sumatrensis, standing 1 to 1.5 metres (3 to 5 feet) at the shoulder. It was originally found in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas, mainland Southeast Asia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Small isolated populations still occur in a few widely separated localities in (Myanmar) Burma, Thailand, West (Peninsular) Malaysia, Sumatra, and East Malaysia (Sabah) and possibly in other nearby territories. The total population is thought to number between 100 and 170. Some of the survivors in Sumatra are protected in reserves.

Both the Sumatran and Javan rhinoceroses inhabit forests as well as marshy areas and regions of thick bush and bamboo, climbing actively in mountainous country. They are mainly browsers. The Javan, or lesser one-horned, rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) occupied the islands of Java, Borneo, and Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and a region extending northward through Myanmar into Assam and eastern Bengal. It is now restricted to the Udjung-Kulon Reserve in western Java, where there are at least 25 and perhaps as many as 50 to 60 animals.

The great Indian, or one-horned, rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) is more or less equivalent in size to the square-lipped rhinoceros and is distinguishable from the smaller Javan rhinoceros by the presence of a large horn, tubercles on its skin, and a different arrangement of skin folds. It previously occupied an extensive range across northern India and Nepal from Assam in the east to the Indus valley in the west. It is found in a range of habitats—open grassland, savanna, forests, and hilly country—and appears to be mainly a grazer, raiding grain fields in some areas. Hunting and the pressure of expanding human populations have greatly reduced both the range and numbers of this animal. It is now found almost entirely in eight reserves or sanctuaries in India, notably the Kaziranga Sanctuary in Assam (estimated population 300) and in the Rapti valley region of the Nepal Tarai. The total population is estimated at about 600 animals, and the prospects for survival appear to be reasonably good.

The Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), largest member of the family Tapiridae, is found in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, as far north as the Myanmar-Thailand border in latitude 18° N. It is found from sea level to high altitudes and occupies forests and thickets but may feed in more open areas. It is still abundant and widespread.

The three New World species occupy distinct, nonoverlapping but contiguous ranges. The mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque), the smallest and most primitive, inhabits the temperate-zone forests and bordering grasslands of the Andes in Colombia and Ecuador and in northern Peru, up to altitudes of nearly 4,600 metres (about 15,000 feet). Agricultural and pastoral expansion resulted in some decline in the status of this species, but it is still fairly common. The Central American, or Baird’s, tapir (T. bairdii) is the largest of the American species. It is essentially Middle American, with a range extending from Mexico into coastal Ecuador, and it occupies undisturbed climax rainforest. It is shy and adjusts poorly to the disturbance caused by settlement. This disturbance, together with the destruction of habitat accompanying human occupation, has greatly reduced its range and numbers. The species is said to be much in need of active conservation. The most widespread species is the Brazilian tapir (T. terrestris), which is found throughout the Brazilian subregion east of the Andes and in a small area west of the Andes in northwestern Venezuela and northern Colombia. Like the other species, it is largely a forest form requiring the proximity of water. The three New World tapirs are mainly browsers and are remarkably similar in habits.

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